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A spoon emoji, a subreddit, a viral song: US federal workers are finding sweet succor in the bosom of the internet as President Donald Trump takes an ax to their jobs.Some have lost their entire income, others have been let go only to be rehired, and yet more have been teetering on the brink for weeks.On the popular internet forum Reddit, where users, often Americans, share and rank advice and questions in communities called subreddits, a “fednews” group is among the most active — in the top one percent of subreddits with 550,000 users. With identities hidden behind usernames, employees impart suggestions and grapple with solutions as the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is run by billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk, whittles away at the federal workforce.”I have 0900 EST meeting today with a lawyer who specializes in Federal law and government worker rights,” one user posted. “Give me any questions you have and if don’t have it already ill try to include in my time. Just paid for one hour.”Another user simply shared a sense of despair when the unthinkable finally happened: “After being anxious for weeks, I was fired today.”- Finding a ‘platform’ -Helen — who like other employees AFP spoke with only wanted to use her first name for fear of retribution — runs an Instagram account with 16,000 followers called “Feds Work for You,” which includes articles, protest information and accounts from fired federal employee.Trump and Musk “have such big platforms,” said Helen, herself a federal worker, wondering “who’s going to be standing up for federal workers; we don’t have that sort of platform.”John, a 10-year civil servant, launched a podcast on YouTube with an aim to “humanize” federal employees “so people understand that these are regular people who are just doing a public service job.”He said it was important how social media allows civil servants to share their stories while remaining anonymous: “I’m scared, right? Like, you know, they find out who I am.”Federal employees have also rallied online around a series of hashtags, emojis and other slogans.The song “Hostile Government Takeover,” initially posted on TikTok, made it onto platforms like Spotify, including a cover by world-renowned US DJ Moby.Meanwhile, the spoon emoji has become a symbol of protest, referencing a now-famous email from Musk’s team titled “Fork in the Road,” in which government employees were given an offer to leave with eight months’ pay or risk being fired in the future.”We need a communications campaign,” said Helen, adding: “I think a lot of people don’t know what we do, and it’s an easy target.”

He addressed the masses, or at least the media, from the presidential opera box. He led a board meeting. He said he never really liked the smash hit musical “Hamilton.”But Donald Trump’s message stayed the same throughout a triumphalist visit to the Kennedy Center in Washington: I’m in charge now.The US president was making his first visit to the famed arts venue since installing himself as chairman and ousting its leadership in part of what he has called a nationwide war on “woke.””We’ll make it great again,” Trump told reporters, saying the center was wasting money and in “tremendous disrepair.””But it is so much like what I’m witnessing in other places — we have open borders, we have men playing in women’s sports. It’s all the same thing.”With that, the 78-year-old Republican then explicitly linked his takeover of the center to his wider blitz on liberals and his opponents in almost every area of American life.- Loyalists -His sudden changes at the Kennedy Center have faced opposition, with concertgoers booing Vice President JD Vance last week and “Hamilton” canceling a planned run there.The producer of the rap musical, which is about the birth of the United States and its first treasury secretary, said earlier this month that he was canceling its latest run in protest after Trump “destroyed” the venue’s “neutrality.”But former reality TV star Trump waved away the concerns.”I never liked Hamilton very much. I never liked it, but we are going to have some really good shows,” he said.Trump’s show of power was the latest in the space of a few days to one of the institutions that he has upended since starting his second term, following a similar trip to the Department of Justice on Friday.He took a lengthy tour of the Kennedy Center, first visiting a basement arts area where he lamented that its previous bosses had built expensive rooms “nobody’s going to use.”The president then held a board meeting at the venue’s opera house at a huge, dramatically lit table placed on the stage.The board, which once held a cross-section of Washington cultural figures, is now stuffed with loyalists including Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles and Second Lady Usha Vance.- ‘Not going to be woke’ -Then Trump ascended to the presidential box, draped in red velvet with a huge presidential seal, and answered a few questions from on high from the assembled media gathered below.The symbolism of Trump’s newly exerted control could not have been clearer.The Kennedy Center, a white marble edifice on the banks of the Potomac River, is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and also offers theater, opera, comedy and other productions.Trump, however, has vowed that “it’s not going to be woke” anymore and has railed at the fact that it used to host drag shows.Ever the showman, Trump’s own performance at the Kennedy Center came with a surprise finale.As he left through the grand foyer, he said that on Tuesday his administration would release remaining files on the 1963 assassination of president John F. Kennedy — the man after whom the center is named.”That’s a big announcement,” Trump said next to a bust of his Democratic predecessor. “People have been waiting for decades for that.”

US President Donald Trump on Monday picked Michelle Bowman to be the Federal Reserve’s next vice chair for supervision, tapping someone seen as favoring a lighter touch to banking regulation.The important central bank role requires confirmation by the Senate, which is controlled by Trump’s Republican party.”I am pleased to announce that Michelle ‘Miki’ Bowman will be the Federal Reserve’s new Vice Chair of Supervision,” Trump wrote in a post to his Truth Social media site.”Our Economy has been mismanaged for the past four years, and it is time for a change,” he said, adding: “Miki has the ‘know-how’ to get it done.”Bowman, a former community banker, was nominated by Trump to the Fed’s governing board in 2018. She has been a vocal critic of attempts by former vice chair Michael Barr to impose tougher banking regulation as part of an international response to the 2007-2009 global financial crisis.The Fed vice chair for supervision must be nominated from the ranks of the bank’s seven-strong Board of Governors, which currently includes just three Republican appointees: Fed chair Jerome Powell, Bowman, and governor Christopher Waller.In a statement, Bowman said she was grateful for the “continued faith and confidence” Trump had placed in her “to fulfill this vital role.””If confirmed, I will promote a safe and sound banking system through a pragmatic approach to supervision and regulation with a transparent and tailored bank regulatory framework that encourages innovation,” she added. The American Bankers Association (ABA), which represents the interests of the US banking industry, voiced strong support for Trump’s decision. “We applaud President Trump’s nomination of Governor Michelle Bowman to serve as the Federal Reserve’s next vice chair for supervision, and we urge the Senate to quickly confirm her,” ABA President Rob Nichols said in a statement.”Since joining the Fed, Governor Bowman has been a thoughtful, principled voice for sensible regulatory and monetary policy and someone who understands the important role that banks of all sizes play in our financial system and our economy,” he added.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is withdrawing Hunter Biden’s government bodyguards, extending his campaign of political retribution to Joe Biden’s son.Trump announced the same measure against Ashley Biden, the former president’s daughter with former first lady Jill.In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump asserted that Hunter Biden’s security detail is composed of as many as 18 people, calling it “ridiculous.”He said Hunter Biden was currently on vacation in South Africa and noted he had recently suspended US aid to the country over alleged rights violations.”Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection. Likewise, Ashley Biden who has 13 agents will be taken off the list,” Trump wrote.Federal law grants Secret Service protection to former presidents and their spouses, but only to their children if they are under age 16.Nonetheless, protection is often extended for a period of time to adult children.A Secret Service spokesperson, when queried about Trump’s action, told AFP: “We are aware of the President’s decision to terminate protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden.””The Secret Service will comply and is actively working with the protective details and the White House to ensure compliance as soon as possible.”Hunter Biden has been a target of Republican ire for years, with the animosity intensifying after his father pardoned his gun and tax crime convictions shortly before leaving office in January.On Monday, Trump declared that the pardon and others issued by Biden were void, an unprecedented move with unclear legal founding.Trump’s revocation of the security details is his latest act of apparent or explicit retribution against perceived enemies since returning to office in January.His administration previously revoked the security clearances of former president Biden and dozens of ex-officials, as well as all employees at several law firms associated with his Democratic opponents.Trump has also revoked security details from former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former national security advisor John Bolton and Anthony Fauci, who led the country’s fight against Covid-19.The White House has justified these decisions saying that people are not entitled to security protection and clearances for life.”The individuals you’re mentioning are quite wealthy, I understand, so they can get their own private security if they wish,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in January. After his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, Trump issued an order giving a six-month extension of Secret Service protection to all four of his adult children and three senior administration officials.The measure cost taxpayers $1.7 million, The Washington Post has reported, quoting an analysis of spending records.

A jury in North Dakota began deliberating Monday in a trial that has broad free speech implications, over a US oil pipeline operator’s lawsuit seeking millions of dollars from Greenpeace for allegedly orchestrating a campaign of violence and defamation.At the heart of the case is the Dakota Access Pipeline, where nearly a decade ago the Standing Rock Sioux tribe led one of the largest anti-fossil fuel protests in US history. Hundreds were arrested and injured, prompting concerns from the United Nations over violations of Indigenous sovereignty.The pipeline, which transports fracked crude oil to refineries and global markets, has been operational since 2017.But its operator, Energy Transfer, has continued pursuing legal action against Greenpeace — first in a federal lawsuit seeking $300 million, which was dismissed, and then in the three-week trial in a state court in Mandan, North Dakota.Critics call the case a clear example of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), designed to silence dissent and drain financial resources. Notably, North Dakota is among the minority of US states without anti-SLAPP protections.In February, Greenpeace became the first group to test the European Union’s anti-SLAPP directive by suing Energy Transfer in the Netherlands. The group is seeking damages with interest and demanding that Energy Transfer publish the court’s findings on its website.More than 400 organizations, along with public figures such as singer Billie Eilish and actors Jane Fonda and Susan Sarandon have signed an open letter in support of Greenpeace, as have hundreds of thousands of individuals globally.

Donald Trump said his administration would be releasing Tuesday remaining government files on the assassination of president John F. Kennedy — a case that still fuels conspiracy theories more than 60 years after his death.Trump announced the documents drop Monday while visiting the Kennedy Center, a performing arts venue in Washington named after the late president.”While we’re here I thought it’d be appropriate — we are, tomorrow, announcing and giving all of the Kennedy files,” Trump told reporters.On January 23, Trump signed an executive order calling for the declassification of the JFK assassination documents, a case that still fuels conspiracy theories more than 60 years after his death.”People have been waiting for decades for this, and I’ve instructed my people that are responsible… put together by Tulsi Gabbard,” Trump said, referencing his Director of National Intelligence.The January order also covered documents related to the 1960s assassinations of JFK’s younger brother Robert F. Kennedy — father of Trump’s health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr — and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.While Trump did not share any details as to what new information the files released Tuesday will contain, he teased the sheer volume of documents to be published, telling reporters: “We have a tremendous amount of paper, you’ve got a lot of reading.””I don’t believe we’re going to redact anything,” Trump added.The US National Archives has released tens of thousands of records in recent years related to the November 22, 1963 assassination of then-president Kennedy — but thousands of documents have been held back, citing national security concerns.It said at the time of the latest large-scale release, in December 2022, that 97 percent of the Kennedy records — which total five million pages — had now been made public. The Warren Commission that investigated the shooting of the charismatic 46-year-old president determined that it was carried out by a former Marine sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone.But that formal conclusion has done little to quell speculation that a more sinister plot was behind Kennedy’s murder in Dallas, Texas, and the slow release of the government files has added fuel to various conspiracy theories.

Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, who has been found liable of sexual assault, met Donald Trump during a Saint Patrick’s Day visit on Monday during which he lashed out at illegal immigration in Ireland.”Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness,” said McGregor during an appearance in the White House briefing room alongside the president’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.”The illegal immigration racket is running ravage on the country,” added the fighter, wearing a green business suit to mark Saint Patrick’s Day, the centuries-old celebration of his homeland.Trump later hosted the 36-year-old former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star — whom he said last week was his favorite Irishman — in the Oval Office.McGregor posed for a picture with his arm around Trump’s shoulder as the president sat at his desk, and for another with tech tycoon and powerful Trump advisor Elon Musk. Tesla billionaire Musk previously backed McGregor when he spoke in the past about a possible presidential bid in Ireland. Musk has recently spoken out in support of a number of anti-immigration parties in Europe.”Your work ethic is inspiring,” McGregor told Trump, according to footage posted by an aide to the US president. “Yours is too, you’re fantastic,” replied Trump.Mc Gregor had earlier said he would be “listening” to Trump on immigration — one of the US president’s main focus areas as he seeks to ramp up deportations of people without proper documentation.”We couldn’t think of a better guest to have with us on Saint Patrick’s Day,” Leavitt said.McGregor’s comments earned swift pushback from Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, who met with Trump last week in the White House and received a dressing down over trade.”Conor McGregor’s remarks are wrong, and do not reflect the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland,” the premier posted on X.Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a sport that combines various combat techniques, and can be extremely violent.It has been gaining popularity, particularly as Trump campaigned in 2024 with stars and promoters of the UFC series that is popular with many male voters.Nicknamed “The Notorious,” McGregor is one of the biggest stars in UFC, the most famous and lucrative MMA league. He is known for his aggressive, provocative temperament — and noted for occasional anti-immigration outbursts.In November 2024 the fighter was ordered by an Irish court to pay damages to a woman who claimed that McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018. McGregor claimed they had consensual sex.More recently, the Irishman was sued in a US court in January, accused of sexual assault at an NBA game in Miami in 2023.Trump was meanwhile ordered by a New York jury in a civil trial in 2023 to pay $5 million for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.Trump denied the allegations and appealed the verdict, which was upheld in December 2024.

Huthi media said fresh US strikes hit Yemen on Monday, after huge crowds gathered in the conflict-torn country to protest earlier bombings targeting the Iran-backed rebel group.Tens of thousands of demonstrators, many waving assault rifles, daggers or Korans, chanted “Death to America, death to Israel!” in the capital Sanaa.There were also large crowds in Saada, birthplace of the Huthi movement, and demonstrations in Dhamar, Hodeida and Amran, footage from the rebels’ Al-Masirah TV station showed.”Yemen will never back down — we defy the Americans, we defy the Zionists,” said a man shouting slogans to the Sanaa crowd, who chanted back: “We are the men of the Prophet.”The protests came after the first US strikes on Yemen under President Donald Trump, aimed at ending the Huthis’ Red Sea harassment campaign.The strikes killed 53 people and wounded 98 on Saturday.The rebels’ Al-Masirah channel and Saba press agency on Monday evening reported new US strikes in the Hodeida and Al-Salif regions.The Huthis launched scores of attacks on ships in the vital route during the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.Earlier on Monday they said they had attacked the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier group twice within 24 hours. There was no comment from the United States.Washington has vowed to keep hitting Yemen until the rebels stop attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, with Trump warning he would use “overwhelming lethal force”.- Heavy strikes -In the capital Sanaa, controlled by the Huthis since 2014, giant Yemeni and Palestinian flags punctuated a sea of demonstrators at Al-Sabeen Square, which has hosted large-scale demonstrations on a weekly basis throughout the Gaza war.Just two days ago the Huthi-controlled capital was hit by heavy strikes, including in northern districts frequented by the rebels’ leadership.They were the first US strikes since Trump came to office in January despite a pause in the Huthis’ attacks coinciding with a ceasefire in the Gaza war.On Sunday, US officials vowed further bombardments until the rebels ended their campaign, while also threatening action against the group’s sponsor Iran.Huthi media reported more explosions late on Sunday, accusing the Americans of targeting a cotton facility in the Hodeida region and the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship hijacked in November 2023.- ‘Hell will rain down’ -The United Nations urged both sides to “cease all military activity”, while expressing concern over Huthi threats to resume the Red Sea attacks.Beijing called for “dialogue and negotiation” and a de-escalation of tensions.”China opposes any action that escalates the situation in the Red Sea,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.Before this weekend’s targeting of the US carrier group, the Huthis had not claimed any attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since January 19, when the ceasefire in Gaza began.However, the group had threatened to resume its campaign over Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory. It said it would “move to additional escalatory options” if the “American aggression” continued.US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told ABC News that Saturday’s strikes “targeted multiple Huthi leaders and took them out”. The Huthis have not responded to Waltz’s claim.Trump, meanwhile, has warned the Yemeni group that “hell will rain down upon you” if it did not stop its attacks.On Monday, he broadened the warning to include Iran, saying he would hold Tehran responsible for “every shot fired” by the Huthis and that it would “suffer the consequences”.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier condemned the US strikes and said Washington had “no authority” to dictate Tehran’s foreign policy.- Costly detour -A database set up by ACLED, a non-profit monitor, shows 136 Huthi attacks against warships, commercial vessels, and Israeli and other targets since October 19, 2023.While the Red Sea trade route normally carries around 12 percent of world shipping traffic, Huthi attacks have forced many companies into costly detours around southern Africa.The United States had already launched several rounds of strikes on Huthi targets under former president Joe Biden.Israel has also struck Yemen, most recently in December, after Huthi missile fire towards Israeli territory.The rebels control large swathes of Yemen, including most of its population centres, after ousting the internationally recognised government from Sanaa.They have been at war with a Saudi-led coalition backing the government since 2015, a conflict that has triggered a major humanitarian crisis.Fighting has largely been on hold since a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022, but the peace process has stalled following the Huthi attacks over Gaza.burs/th/dcp/ami

US President Donald Trump invoked a little-known, centuries-old wartime power, the Alien Enemies Act, to send more than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador over the weekend, where they have been imprisoned.AFP explores what the law is and how it has been used in the past:- 220+ years old -In 1798, in the early days of the United States, second US president John Adams passed the Alien Enemies Act as part of a larger package of laws called the Alien and Sedition Acts.The laws came into force with the United States on the brink of war with France and were meant to tighten requirements for citizenship, authorize the president to deport foreigners, and allow their imprisonment during wartime.While the other rules in the package were eventually repealed or expired, the Alien Enemies Act remained.The wartime law states that “subjects of the hostile nation or government” can be “apprehended, restrained, secured and removed, as alien enemies.”- The World Wars -While the law was enacted to prevent foreign espionage and sabotage in wartime, according to the Brennan Center for Justice “it can be — and has been — wielded against immigrants who have done nothing wrong.”It has been invoked only three times — during the War of 1812 against British nationals, during World War I against nationals from enemy nations and, most notoriously, during World War II for the internment of more than 100,000 Japanese citizens and Japanese Americans.The president can invoke the act if Congress has declared war. However, he can circumvent Congress if he is acting to repel an “invasion” or “predatory incursion.”- An invasion? -Trump, who has promised an aggressive drive to deport thousands of undocumented migrants, says he is using the law against members of Venezuelan drug gang Tren de Aragua.In a proclamation published on Saturday, the White House declared that the transnational criminal organization is closely linked to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.”The result is a hybrid criminal state that is perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States,” the presidential statement said.Trump maintained that the gang is “conducting irregular warfare against the territory of the United States both directly and at the direction, clandestine or otherwise, of the Maduro regime.”- What do experts say? -Experts doubt that the law allows for the mass expulsions of immigrants.Even if the courts accept Trump’s argument that Tren de Aragua’s presence constitutes an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” by a foreign nation or government, the United States “still bears the burden of persuading courts that individual detainees are members of Tren de Aragua,” judicial expert Steve Vladeck of Just Security said.”That’s going to require case-by-case judicial review,” Vladeck added, explaining that “the government is going to lose many of those cases.”- Judicial block -A US federal judge granted a temporary suspension of the expulsions order — apparently as planes of Venezuelan immigrants were headed to El Salvador — raising questions over whether the Trump administration deliberately defied the court decision.The government has meanwhile appealed the decision and asked that it be suspended until the matter is resolved.A hearing on the case’s merits is scheduled for Friday, but the matter may well end up in the Supreme Court.

The legal basis for his argument appears uncertain, but Donald Trump has sought to drum up outrage over his predecessor Joe Biden’s supposed use of autopen to sign presidential pardons and other documents.Trump’s attack on auto-signatures ignores that they have been used by previous presidents — and that there is no evidence Biden even used the technology for signing pardons, which gave immunity to a string of Trump political opponents.However, the narrative taps into Trump’s longtime theory that a senile Biden was not in charge as president, while a mysterious “deep state” pulled the strings.The eye-catching autopen issue also serves to soak up attention as Trump is accused of a brazen push to expand his own powers.The Justice Department is clear on the legal situation.In 2005, it said the president does not need to sign a bill by hand and can direct an official “to affix the president’s signature to such a bill, for example by autopen.”Such rulings do little to curb Trump, or the Heritage Foundation — the right-wing think-tank that has pushed the autopen as an attack line.”The whole subject of autopen, did (Biden) know what he was doing?” Trump asked reporters.”Did he authorize it? Or is there somebody in an office, maybe a radical left lunatic, just signing whatever that person wants?”To sign pardons and all of the things that he signed with an autopen is disgraceful.”Trump’s claims of Biden using an autopen are unproven.Some US media have reported the Heritage Foundation’s evidence of auto-signing is based on digitized copies, not on original documents — which Biden was in some cases photographed signing personally.The autopen process is common across US government and business for routine letters, photographs and promotional material, and has been used for presidential pardons in the past.”Trump cannot void a prior president’s pardons,” Frank Bowman, of the University of Missouri’s School of Law, who has written about the presidential pardon, told AFP.”A president does not have to personally sign a pardon to make it valid,” he added.In 2011, The New York Times reported that Barack Obama had become the first president to sign a bill by autopen while in Europe. Paper versions are still sometimes flown to the president for signing.In his last days in office, Biden, now 82, issued pardons for people targeted by Trump — including Biden’s own son, lawmakers who probed Trump, a military general who had criticized Trump and the country’s top Covid expert.”I am not afraid of Trump’s latest midnight rant that has no basis in reality,” Bennie Thompson, one lawmaker pardoned by Biden, said in a statement to Axios news.